Cat Saves Baby From Freezing to Death, Hailed as Hero

A long-haired tabby cat in Russia is being hailed as a hero this month for saving the life of an abandoned infant by keeping the tyke warm during the harsh winter night.

The baby was discovered discarded in a cardboard box by a passersby in Obninsk, a city in Russia’s Kaluga region. Authorities say that the cat kept the baby warm and alive through the cold temperatures.

City residents dubbed the homeless cat “Masha” and reported that the animal “warmed the baby for several hours with her body.”

Nadezhda Makhovikova found the baby and said that she was alerted by the constant mewing of the cat.

“When I went down, I saw it was the baby crying,” Makhovikova said.

“Clearly her mothering instincts had taken over and she wanted to protect the child,” city resident Irina Lavrova said. “He was well-dressed with a little hat, and whoever left him here had even left a few nappies and some baby food.”

The baby was found to be a perfectly healthy three-month-old boy.

Residents are now saying that they are spoiling the hero cat with her favorite foods for saving the baby.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.